Alvarado builds soccer field in CentervilleHector Alvarado wants to see people playing more soccer. That's why he built a soccer field in Centerville and started the USA Young Soccer League. "Kids don't have enough to do," he said. "This is just my opinion, but kids have nothing to do. They play sports 2-3 months, and the rest of the time they just use the computer or watch TV." Alvarado, who moved from California in 2006, ran a soccer league there for 13 years. The USA Young Soccer Le...

Field of Angels championship todayPOTTSVILLE -- Sometimes, baseball is about more than winning or losing. Few know this better than Field of Angels founder Mark Brashear. Field of Angels, now in its eighth year, is a baseball league for athletes with physical and mental disabilities to compete for the love of the game. On Saturday, a season's worth of baseball will culminate in what the league calls "The Day of Champions." Every team will compete beginning at 9 a.m. today at T...

Sharks prepare for 2016 swim season, still time to joinThe Russellville Sharks are circling the 2016 swim season with 75 swimmers signed up and around 60 swimmers in the water practicing every day. The Sharks are a Boys and Girls Club affiliated competitive swim team for athletes ages 6 through high school. Ages 6-10 meets at M.J. Hickey Pool at 7 a.m., while ages 11-16 meets at 8. "Because it encompasses everyone from ages 6 through high school, we have the largest athletic team in the River Vall...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSONsports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Wilson to speak at Peewee fundraiserFormer Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Tyler Wilson will speak at the Cyclone Peewee Football Fundraiser Dinner on July 16 inside the Russellville High School Cafeteria. Wilson, who holds the University of Arkansas school record for career passing yards at 7,765, will speak about the positive impact youth sports had on his life. “Tyler has a great message about how youth sports impacted his life,” Michael Swindle, a member of the Cyclone Peewe...

Cyclone Peewee Football works toward upgradeThe peewee football league in Russellville has had a busy offseason. After partnering with Russellville High School, the program redubbed itself “Cyclone Peewee Football” and will be working alongside Cyclones head coach Billy Dawson to provide a stronger football program for Russellville students in third through sixth grade. The peewee football league in Russellville was previously run by Mike Onyett for over 10 years. Onyett said he did the...

Study: Football concussions and resuming play vary by ageCHICAGO (AP) — Younger football players are more likely to return to the field less than a day after suffering concussions than those in high school and college, according to a new study. Only 10 percent of young players with concussions resumed football that soon, but the results are concerning and suggest a need for more sidelines medical supervision and better recognition of concussion symptoms in children, said sports injury researcher Zac...

Lady Gales complete perfect seasonThe Russellville Middle School (RMS) Lady Gales completed a perfect run through track and field season on Monday with a win in the 2016 Conway Seventh Grade Relays. The Lady Gales Dominated the season finale compiling a total score of 183 points, 73 points higher than second place Conway. “It was by far our best performance of the season,” RMS head coach Joey Fisher said. “We could not have peaked at a better time, with many of athletes having...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Pugilism in Pottsville 10 canceledPOTTSVILLE — David Beck was emotional when he admitted his program, Dream Team Boxing, would be unable to host its 10th annual Pugilism in Pottsville due to lack of funds. That’s nothing new. Beck has paid the difference out of pocket in the past when the program was short on sponsorship or donations. This year, Beck said he simply can’t afford it. “I tried for 10 years to make it where we could afford every one and bring people from all over ...

City gets grant for field lightsThe Russellville Recreation and Parks Commission learned Tuesday that the city has received a 50/50 grant to fund lighting for the adult fields at the Soccer Complex. The $230,050 state grant will be matched by local funds from the 1-cent sales tax earmarked for Recreation and Parks capital projects, Director Mack Hollis said. Eight light poles will be built to provide lighting for three adult fields at the $1 million complex. The total projec...

City looks into soccer water reservoirThe Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee is trying to come up with a long-term solution to the problem of providing water at the Soccer Complex. The committee recommended during its meeting Tuesday to appropriate about $3,000 to $4,000 for City Engineer Kurt Jones to conduct studies into the land at the complex to see if a water reservoir is feasible. Jones explained that he thought an impoundment with an average depth of 5 feet that ...

Myers climbs highMylah Myers, 6, isn’t scared of heights. Falling? Maybe. But Myers spends her free time rock climbing, reaching high places and scaling back down again. From her perch halfway up a bouldering wall in The Wall climbing gym in Russellville, Myers talked about conquering her fear of heights. “Sometimes people are afraid,” she said. “But I am only afraid sometimes.” Bouldering is a harness-free form of rock climbing. Bouldering can be done without...

Carter's touchdownWhen Ashley Collins saw her son, Carter Roach, put on his football helmet, she couldn’t help but weep. Roach lined up at running back on a 2-point conversion attempt during the Dover Pirates fourth-grade peewee football game against the Pottsville Apaches. The quarterback took the snap, handed it to Roach, and then began pushing his wheelchair toward the end zone. “I bawled the entire time,” Collins said. “They told me they had been working on...

Community photo: 4-H shooting sportsAndrew Ward (from left), Ashlyn Ward, Josie Smith, Samantha Moorhouse and Alexander Beck of Pope County 4-H Shooting Sports show off some of their new equipment that they received from National Rifle Association (NRA) grant funds. The NRA Foundation provides financial support to eligible projects, programs and organizations each year. The Arkansas 4-H Shooting Sports Program is an educational activity of Arkansas 4-H, designed to enhance self-...

RV Heat lights lives and scoreboardsGaylen Scott is sure God is working through his basketball program, RV Heat. He counts his blessings not just in wins but in lives changed. “God is the center of our program,” he said. “And I know my mom is up in heaven still helping us out.” RV Heat, which stands for Respect, Vision, Heart, Effort, Attitude and Teamwork, is a Christian-based nonprofit organization that teaches kids about basketball and the Bible. Scott said the team holds Bib...

Venture Crew 300 girls win raceThe Russellville Venture Crew 300 girls recently won the 2015 White River Canoe Race, a three-day, 120-mile race conducted by the Boy Scouts of America annually for the last 49 years in Batesville The Venture Crew 300 is a co-ed division of the Boy Scouts of America. The girls won the cruising division, while the Venture Crew 300 boys team placed second in the White River Canoe Race in Batesville. "The cruising class is kind of a misleading na...

Manns named First Tee Participant of the MonthCommunity Service, Inc. (CSI) named Susanna Manns as the First Tee Participant of the Month for July. Manns is the daughter of David and Susan Manns of Russellville and attends Sequoyah Elementary. Susanna has a long list of favorite things about the First Tee program. “I like playing golf, baseball, meeting new friends, having different kinds of contests and doing a little bit of everything,” she said. Her father had been looking for a way to...

Local coaches give back with speed campPOTTSVILLE — Twenty-six peewee football players ran wind sprints in the field near Rev. Thomas G. Morris Athletic Complex on Monday in an effort to improve speed and endurance for the upcoming football season. Mike Gailey and several other coaches offered the speed camp for free as a way to give back to the community. “I’ve always had a passion for sports and competing at a very high level,” Gailey said. “I wasn’t able to experience any of tha...